Page 43 of Sal Gabrini: Man on Fire

“Who’s got your families?”

“The same fuckers that took over the other syndicates,” said Boomer. “You tell us to wait and they take our families!”

Sal was stunned by the news, but he knew he had to maintain his cool. “Come with me,” he said as half of Sal’s grounds security, along with the security the bosses brought with them, followed the powerful men as they walked to the largest guest house on Sal’s property. But once inside, it was just the bosses.

“Sit down,” Sal ordered, and they all took seats on the sofa. Sal sat his already overworked body in the chair. “Now tell me exactly what happened?”

“We got a call last night, all of us at the same time,” said Milo, “telling us that they wanted to meet. So we agree to meet.”

“You still don’t know who they are,” Sal asked, “but you agreed to meet with them?”

“Fuck you, Sal Luca!” said Palo angrily. “We were desperate. You telling us to wait. You wouldn’t put any power behind helping us. You’re off in Hollywood somewhere. What you expected us to do? Wait for you to get back from your pedicure appointment with the stars?”

Sal angrily grabbed Palo and beat him down with his fists. The other two bosses had to pull Sal back.

“We got problems and you two are fighting?” Boomer yelled. “Cut that shit out! Cut it out!”

They both cut it out. And Milo continued the conversation. “We didn’t want them destroying our syndicates just like they did everybody else,” he said. “That’s why we met with them.”

Sal still thought it was a fucked idea. But he moved on. “What happened at this meeting?”

“It started out cordial,” said Milo. “They said they didn’t want to take over our territories, but they would if we didn’t cooperate.”

“By doing what?”

“They didn’t say. And then they dropped the boom on us.”

“They said while your asses sitting at some meeting,” Sal speculated, “they were snatching your families? That boom?”

They all looked at each other. They hated that they were suckered that way, but they were. “Yes,” said Palo. “That’s what happened.”

“You gotta help us, Sal,” Boomer begged. “You’re all we got left! You gotta help us!”

“Tell me who they are first,” Sal said. “Who did you meet with?”

They looked at each other, and they began shaking their worried heads. “We don’t know,” Palo said. “None of us had ever seen him before.”

“It was just one guy?”

“Yeah, and his bodyguards. But we didn’t know them either.”

Sal pulled out his cell phone and showed them the photo Pauley had snapped of the guy who had recruited Markie. “Is that him?”

They nearly stood up. “That’s that fucker!” Milo proclaimed. “You know him?”

“No. But I’m working on it.”

“How did you get his photo?” asked Palo. “They wouldn’t allow us to bring even our cell phones anywhere near him.”

“He’s the same fucker tried to recruit two of my men at a bar. He succeeded with one of them. The other one took a picture as a just in case.”

“He was behind what Markie did in California? That drive-by?”

Sal nodded. Word spread fast in the underworld. “That’s what we figure, yeah.”

“What do we do now, Sal? We got to go after that fucker.”

“We got to first find out who he is and who he works for,” said Sal. “Who all did they snatch? Your wives, your children, who?”

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